Why Do We Have Voting Systems That Don’t Always Reflect the Majority?

Sometimes, the way we vote doesn’t always mean the person with the most votes wins. Imagine you're choosing your favorite ice cream flavor, chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry. If there are three flavors and you have to pick just one, it might not be the most popular one that wins if everyone has different preferences.

In some voting systems like first-past-the-post, the person who gets the most votes in their area becomes the winner, even if they didn’t get more than half of all the votes. That means someone could win with just 40% of the votes, while the other two candidates split the remaining 60%.

This can make it harder for people to feel like their vote actually matters or that everyone gets a fair say.